This is necessary in order to keep our calendar (Gregorian) in sync with the seasonal year because the day is not exactly 24 hours long and extra time accumulates every year at the rate of about 1/4 of a day. In other words, our year is not 365 days, it's 365.25 days long. In order to keep things accurate, we add an entire day every fourth year.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

So, when exactly do we reset our clocks? And is it forward or backward one hour?

Daylight Saving Time can be very confusing. Read below to help end your confusion![The chart on the left plots the times of sunrise and sunset (with DST adjustment as separate lines) in Greenwich, GB for 2007.]Short answer: For the Spring- On Sunday, 11 March, 2012 at 2:00am, you should set your clock forward one hour to 3:00am.

For the Fall- On Sunday, 04 November, 2012 at 2:00am, you should set your clock backward one hour to 1:00am. (Remember "spring forward, fall back...").Easy answer: Most people who go to bed earlier than the wee hours of the morning simply set their clocks back/forward one hour before they go to bed on Saturday.